Youth baseball and hockey leagues suggested for Treaty #3

Former Toronto Blue Jay players may soon be coaching Grand Council Treaty #3 youth about the skills and fundamentals of baseball.
“We were talking with the Toronto Blue Jays about a month ago,” said Nigigoonsiminikaaning Chief Gary Allen during the Treaty #3 Chiefs Fall Assembly, held Oct. 22-24 in Lac Seul. “We talked about having a baseball coaching clinic where former Toronto Blue Jays would come to our community and teach our youth about baseball.”
Allen said many youth are now engaged in inactive activities such as gaming and the use of the Internet and cell phones in Treaty #3 communities.
“They’re just not active in the community,” Allen said.
Allen said the Blue Jays suggested the development of a baseball league for youth across Treaty #3 territory.
“So the idea is to look at forming these leagues to help our youth in terms of understanding what they require to be active in our communities,” Allen said. “But we also need the support of our parents, our leaders to bring about change in our youth — from being disconnected to being reconnected with our communities. That’s important for the overall health of our community.”
Allen also suggested the development of a minor hockey league for the young women and men across Treaty #3.
“We have exceptional athletes when you consider the amount of youth that we have within Treaty #3,” Allen said. “Fifty per cent of our population is youth under the age of 25, and what are we doing for them?”
Allen said an active lifestyle may encourage youth to take on leadership roles in the community.
“I believe it is one of the foundational blocks that we need to develop in our communities,” Allen said. “We were told as a council for our community that we needed to bridge the gap between the youth and their Elders. How you do that is through education, and education is (important) in terms of all aspects of our lives, whether it be healthy living, healthy lifestyle, and building programs that are able to help them. Recreation is just one of those things.”
Allen’s community hosted the Chiefs of Ontario Indigenous Youth Engagement Forum for about 100 youth from Nov. 1-3.
“We want more youth to come out to learn about who they are and to identify with other youth that are making inroads to help their communities all across Ontario,” Allen said. “I’m very honoured to host these youth in our community.”
Treaty #3 Youth Council member Michael Morris, from Wabauskang, fully supported Allen’s baseball and hockey league suggestions.
“I’m all for that idea,” Morris said. “In the communities, there’s not much to do, right, so recreation, baseball, hockey, what have you, is all good.”
Lac Seul Youth Chief Meagan Masakeyash and Youth Council member Reina Foster said the youth in their community are more involved in drugs and alcohol than in community activities.
“(The new event centre) does make a difference for those who play hockey and are into that kind of activity,” Foster said. “Most (teenagers) don’t skate or do anything, but they do hang around here.”
Foster said many youth do not go out to events in the community.
“I’m scared for the future, for the next generation to come, because I know why teenagers do that,” Foster said about drinking alcohol and doing drugs. “It’s because they’ve been in that environment while growing up.”
Masakeyash sees drinking as a never ending cycle, noting she was brought up in that environment.
“The parents do it and the child either grows up resenting the parents or thinking it’s OK,” Masakeyash said. “Unfortunately, a lot of the youth on the reserve grow up thinking it is OK and they start doing it at a very young age.”
Masakeyash said the baseball league idea would help youth who are interested in that sport.
“Everyone has different interests and it is hard to find that one thing that brings all youth together,” Masakeyash said. “This past summer I held a youth conference here at the arena, and I did get a lot of youth. I think a lot of them, even though they don’t admit it and they think it is uncool, are interested in the traditional teachings, so I think that is the best route.”
Masakeyash said many Lac Seul youth do not speak Anishinabemowin and do not know anything about their culture.
“Our Elders are slowly passing on and they are taking that knowledge with them,” Masakeyash said. “We have to learn about our culture before it is too late — once they’re gone, then our culture is gone and we’re lost without it.”
Masakeyash also wants to see Anishinabemowin courses taught in high school.
“It’s mandatory to take a language course to get your diploma, so I don’t speak French and I didn’t want to take a French course,” Masakeyash said. “They didn’t offer Ojibwa or any Native language course. They offered Native studies, but that was just about learning the history.”